Pininfarina celebrates an important milestone in its history: half a century of excellence in aerodynamic and aeroacoustic research. In fact, 50 years ago in 1972, Pininfarina became a leader in this field with the inauguration of the Galleria del Vento in Grugliasco (Wind Tunnel), near Turin, by Sergio Pininfarina. It was the first wind tunnel in Italy for testing 1:1 scale cars and one of only seven in the world.
“The Wind Tunnel has given our company a considerable competitive advantage being the only design company to be equipped with it. Born as a tool with which Pininfarina developed its products, today it has become a strategic asset of the Group, expanding the range of services offered to the market: an activity that supports other sectors in addition to automotive, from transport to architecture, from boating to industrial design,” said Silvio Angori, CEO of Pininfarina.
The Pininfarina Wind Tunnel, which also boasts a new logo specially designed for its first 50 years, is future-oriented. Its testing capabilities are subject to constant improvement through the development of innovative measurement techniques in both aerodynamics and aeroacoustics. It is also one of the few wind tunnels in the world to have a turbulence generation system (TGS) capable of creating various controlled turbulence conditions associated with wind gusts, overtaking manoeuvres, crosswinds and cars in slipstream. The ground effect simulation system, on the other hand, more closely reproduces real vehicle motion conditions.
